The present invention relates generally to a grill, and more particularly to a grill that automatically calibrates a gap between an upper grilling surface and a lower grilling surface.
Grills or griddles are used to cook various foods, such as hamburgers for example. In some conventional grills, the sides of the food are grilled sequentially. The food is placed on a grilling surface, thus grilling the side of the food that contacts the grilling surface. After that side of the food is cooked, the food is manually flipped to cook the opposite side. After both sides of the food are cooked, the food is manually removed from the grill for serving.
In other conventional grills, both sides of the good are grilled simultaneously. After manually programming the type of food into a control unit, the food is placed on a lower grilling surface. An upper platen assembly having an upper grilling surface is then lowered on the food, positioning the food in a gap between the upper and lower grilling surfaces to simultaneously grill both sides of the food. After a predetermined amount of time has passed, the upper platen assembly raises and the food is manually removed from the grill.
To ensure optimal performance, the upper grilling surface should be level to ensure that the upper grilling surface uniformly contacts the food. If the upper platen assembly is not level, a service technician must travel to the site to manually calibrate the grill. This requires additional cost and labor. Hence, there is a need in the art for a grill that automatically calibrates a gap between an upper grilling surface and a lower grilling surface and that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.